Nessa Diab, the partner of former NFL quarterback and civil rights icon Colin Kaepernick, has cosigned Nicki Minaj’s recent tweets about Jay-Z, Roc Nation, and CEO Desiree Perez’s alleged shady business tactics, and says they tried to sabotage Kaepernick’s 2016 protest.
“@NICKIMINAJ exposing the smear campaign tactics that Jay Z, Roc Nation, Desiree Perez did to her behind the scenes is VERY similar to what I was told they did to @Kaepernick7,” Nessa tweeted on X, formerly Twitter. “When Jay purposely co-opted Colin’s protest by siding with the NFL to help ‘their image’ after they blackballed Colin for his protest.”
@NICKIMINAJ exposing the smear campaign tactics that Jay-Z, Roc Nation, Desiree Perez did to her behind the scenes, is VERY similar to what I was told they did to @Kaepernick7 when Jay purposely co-opted Colin’s protest by siding with the NFL to help “their image”… pic.twitter.com/dvWVqRWosF
— NESSA (@nessnitty) July 16, 2025
Kaepernick was blackballed from the league after he took a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and systemic racism.
After opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, Kaepernick remained unsigned by any NFL team. In 2019, he and former teammate Eric Reid settled a collusion grievance with the NFL, receiving an undisclosed amount, although the amount was rumored to be approximately $10 million.
Roc Nation partnered with the NFL in 2019 to handle live music entertainment, including the Super Bowl halftime show. The initial deal was reportedly worth $25 million over a five-year period.
The media personality’s tweet comes days after Nicki accused Jay-Z of owing her millions from his sale of streaming platform, TIDAL. She has also hinted that Jay-Z and Roc Nation have been trying to suppress her career for years.